As more smart cards are deployed into the population, smart card readers have generally become ubiquitous in a variety of electronic devices, portable or not. A smart card, also known as a chip card or an IC card, refers to a card with dimensions similar to that of a credit card or a driver's license that houses an embedded circuit capable of providing identification, authentication, data storage, or applications. Certain signals of the embedded circuit are generally brought to the surface of the smart card through a number of contact pads. When inserted into a smart card reader, these contact pads provide electrical connectivity between the embedded circuit in the smart card and a host in which the smart card reader resides.
To effect the electrical connection between the smart card and the host, a connector is employed in the smart card reader to serve as the interface. The reader requires a physical connection to the smart card that is made by inserting the card into the reader. Two known technologies of insertion are (1) “sliding” contact technology and (2) “landing” contact technology. In general, sliding contact technology requires a “swipe” of the card to register the data on the card, thus providing convenience, while a landing contact technology requires the card to be placed completely inside the reader before data can be registered.
Past smart cards conform to ISO/IEC standards. While ISO 7810 standardizes the outer dimension of a smart card, or the card “envelope,” ISO 7816 standardizes the location and signal connectivity of the smart card's contact pads. Eight contact pads are provided in the ISO 7816 standard, six of them are defined: VCC, GND, Reset, Clock, Vpp, Serial Data I/O, while two are Reserved for Future Use (RFU), RFU1 and RFU2.
Smart cards and readers beyond the current six leads are being designed. These cards may use more power and, thus, ways to dissipate heat from the card may be needed.